The present invention relates to methods for playing casino games using playing cards. More particularly it relates to casino games such as Blackjack, Blackjack-like, Baccarat games, Poker and Poker dice related games .
Blackjack, also known as xe2x80x9c21xe2x80x9d is popular and has been played in casinos for many years. The rules of the game of Blackjack are well known to those skilled in the art.
The rules, with a few exceptions, are fairly universal. Some alternate rules of the basic Blackjack game require the dealer to hit a soft 17 (a hand count according to the rules of Blackjack of 17 including an Ace which counts as one or eleven), limit the hand counts to which a player can double down to ten or eleven, and limit the number of times a hand can be split are but a few examples. These alternate or modified rules are well known as well.
Recently, Blackjack-like games such as SPANISH 21(copyright) described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,888 issued Apr. 1, 1997 to Lofink et al the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, have been created. Some of these games include the feature of an additional or side wager to fund and participate in a jackpot feature for the game based upon the player""s hand. In these games the side wager is optional and is not mandatory
As hereinafter used, the term Blackjack or Blackjack-like or Blackjack-style game refers not only to the basic Blackjack game with its variations but also the aforementioned and other games which are like Blackjack.
Other variations include that described in Le Vasseur U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,789 where a player can play a single hand against multiple dealer""s hands and String U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,705 where a player can elect to wager upon whether the player or dealer will obtain a winning hand.
These Blackjack games are banked by the house (e.g. casino). This means that the player is playing against the dealer who represents the house. Wagers are paid to a player having a winning outcome by the dealer (the xe2x80x9chousexe2x80x9d) and losing wagers are collected by the dealer for the house. Further nearly all winning outcomes are paid at even money, i.e. 1:1, except for a Blackjack (an Ace with a ten value card) which typically pays 3:2.
In contrast to Blackjack, the game of Poker and its variations is a contest between the players with the highest ranking hand winning the pooled wagers (often referred to as the xe2x80x9cpotxe2x80x9d), less a levy or xe2x80x9crakexe2x80x9d taken by the house dealer for hosting the game. Unlike Blackjack the game of Poker generates social interplay in the form of friendly or not so friendly rivalry, humor, banter and byplay between the players which contributes to the excitement of the game. Furthermore; Poker provides exciting features including providing, in some establishments, what are referred to as xe2x80x9cbad beatxe2x80x9d jackpots. These jackpots are funded as a levy on the Poker pot and are won by a player who loses but has a predetermined holding, i.e. four-of-a-kind. Since games such as Blackjack and Baccarat do not have player versus player competition, there has been no consideration of providing bad beat jackpots in those games.
Baccarat is a game akin to Blackjack in that the house collects and pays all wagers, i.e. the player is playing against the house, and the object of the game is to obtain a final hand having a value, as determined by the rules of the game, closest to a target value. In Blackjack, the target value is 21 whereas in Baccarat the values are determined modulo ten and the target value is 9.
The rules of play of conventional Baccarat are well known including the complicated and cumbersome rules governing when a third card is dealt to either the Banker or the Player hands. Suffice it to say, players play the game by wagering that either the surrogate Banker hand or Player hand will have a total, modulo ten, closer to nine than the opposing hand. Players may also wager that the Banker and Player hand will have an equal total (a tie). In that the third card draw rules provide a statistical advantage to the Banker hand, the house exacts a commission upon winning Banker hand wagers of typically five percent. No commission is exacted upon winning Player hand wagers. As stated above, the rules of Baccarat are well known in the art.
A drawback of conventional Baccarat is that the house must keep track of and assess commissions on winning, Banker hand, wagers. A further drawback is that the third card draw rules are complex and difficult for novice players to understand. The third card draw rules are strict leaving the players with no opportunity to use strategy or hunches to opt to obtain or not obtain a third card. Yet another drawback is that the players play to the surrogate Banker or Player hands and thus cannot rely on their own individual luck. Further, in conventional Baccarat the players have only one opportunity to receive a payoff, e.g. a winning wager on one of the Banker or Player hands or winning the tie bet. It would be advantageous to provide players with opportunities to receive a payoff even if they do not win the Banker-Player contest or the tie wager.
It is an object of the method of the present invention to inject the excitement associated with Poker into the game of Blackjack or Baccarat.
It is a further object of the method of the present invention to increase the revenue received by the casino for Blackjack or Baccarat.
It is further an object to provide the players with additional opportunities to receive a payoff while playing the game.
A Poker related game is as described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,529 (the ""529 patent) the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this game the players make two wagers, one against the house and a pot wager to be resolved against the players. A predetermined number of cards are dealt, e.g. three cards to each player and two community cards. From the community and two player cards, each player forms a five card Poker hand. Wagers are resolved by comparing the rankings of player hands, inter se and to a predetermined pay schedule. A drawback of this game is that to fund jackpots or the hosting of the game, the casino may have to exact a levy on the aggregated pot wagers.
It is another object to provide a variation to the game of my prior patent which dispenses with the need for a levy.
There is also a casino poker game known as CARIBBEAN STUD(copyright) which is as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 issued Jun. 6, 1989 to Suttle et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. In this game a player makes an ante wager and five cards are dealt to each player and to the dealer, four of the five dealer""s cards dealt face down. To continue play the player makes an additional wager and the dealer reveals his hand. If the dealer""s hand does not qualify by having at least an Ace-King, the player wins even money on their ante wager and their second wager is returned. If the dealer does qualify, the dealer""s hand is compared to the player""s hand with the higher Poker ranked hand declared the winner. If the player""s hand has one of a schedule of holdings, the player also receives a bonus payout.
In Breeding U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081 issued Feb. 22, 1994, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, another Poker game known as LET IT RIDE(copyright) is described. In this game the player makes initially three separate wagers and three cards are dealt to the player and two community cards are dealt face down. Based upon the player""s three cards, they may leave or withdraw one of their wagers. The dealer then reveals one of the community cards and the player again has the option of leaving or withdrawing another one of their wagers. The dealer then reveals the second face down card and resolves the player""s hand against a predetermined schedule of winning outcomes.
In both LET IT RIDE(copyright) and CARIBBEAN STUD(copyright) games it has been known to provide for an optional jackpot wager which is paid to the player based upon a predetermined schedule of jackpot hands.
It is to be noted that insofar as Blackjack, Baccarat, the game according to the ""529 patent and other games such as Pai Gow, Let It Ride(copyright), Caribbean Stud(copyright) and the like, either the player competes against a dealer hand or there are dealt community or communal cards used by all players to form their hand.
Further in my prior application I disclose using a levy on the pot component of the games, which I have introduced, to fund the hosting of the game as well as jackpots.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a game which dispenses with the need to exact a levy on player""s winnings and which still provides a mechanism for the casino to make a profit.
There is provided, therefore, according to the present invention an improved method for playing a modified casino game of type wherein each player makes a first wager to participate in the game such as a game which has basic play rules, e.g Blackjack, Baccarat (Baccarat, Chemin de Fer), Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud or the like and where each player makes a second, pot, wager. The pot wagers are aggregated to form a pot. Cards are dealt according to the rules of the game, including cards dealt to form a dealer hand or communal cards. If the initial deal to the dealer/community are of a predetermined holding, the house wins the pot. If not, the games are played to their completion with one or more players winning the pots and/or obtaining winning outcome combinations.
By providing for certain house (casino) winning hands, the casino can dispense with the need to exact a levy. The house-potwinning hands are selected to provide the desired vigourish to the house. For example, the combination of Ace-King may be selected or Ace-King or Queen. Accordingly, if the dealer/Banker hand re the first two cards dealt/exposed are an Ace-King or Ace-King or Ace-Queen, the pot is won by the house.
Blackjack/Baccarat Style Games and Pai Gow
According to this embodiment, the player and the dealer (Banker for Baccarat) are dealt a hand of cards from the values of which are summed according to the rules of the game. In a Blackjack-style game, the cards are summed with picture cards, i.e. Jacks, Queens and Kings, having value of ten, Aces having a value of one or eleven and all other cards having a their face value. For a Baccarat-style game, the picture cards have a value of zero, Aces a value of one, the other cards have their face values and the cards are summed modulo ten. The player""s first wager is won or lost in comparison to the dealer""s hand. As between the player and dealer, the hand with the highest summed value closest to a target value (21 for Blackjack and 9 for Baccarat) is declared the winner with ties deemed pushes. If the player is the winner, he is paid usually 1:1 based upon his first wager. If the dealer is the winner, the player""s first wager is collected.
The method of the present invention includes each player making the second, pot wager, the pot wagers aggregated to form a pot. The player of the hand with the highest value hand as between the players closest to the target value is awarded at least a portion of the pot. Players having the same, highest values, share in the award. Alternatively, the pot is carried over to the next round of play. An additional levy may be assessed on the pot and used to fund a jackpot paid to players having a predetermined hand card combination and/or used to fund an alternate or additional bad beat jackpot awarded to a player who loses the pot and who has predetermined holding of cards, certain dealer hand combinations such as for Blackjack the dealer receiving as his first two cards, an Ace-King, or for Baccarat the Banker""s hand being Ace-8.
For Pai Gow, the players make a second, pot wager, said pot wagers aggregated to form a pot. The player""s first wager is resolved according to the rules of Pai Gow. The pot is won by the player having the highest ranking two card, low hand from their seven cards or the highest ranking five card, high hand. To avoid exacting a levy on the pot Pai Gow, certain dealer hand combinations are deemed automatic house wins and the house wins the pot wagers. The card combinations may be Ace-King, or the like, re the dealer""s first two cards dealt/exposed, the frequency of which is selected to provide the required vigourish to the casino so that a levy need not be exacted on the pot.
The above feature of providing for certain automatic house wins to avoid exacting a levy can also be employed in traditional Pai Gow (no pot bets) so that the house does not need to exact a commission on player winning hands.
Let It Ride/Carribean Stud
There is therefor provided according to the present invention a method for playing an improved game of CARIBBEAN STUD(copyright) or LET IT RIDE(copyright) which includes the players making the required wagers to play the underlying game of CARIBBEAN STUD(copyright) or LET IT RIDE(copyright) according to the rules therefor as well as an additional, mandatory, pot wager. The players pot wagers are combined and assembled to define the pot. The underlying game is played according to its rules with wagers collected and awarded as defined by those rules. According to the improvement of the present invention, the pot wagers are resolved by comparing the players"" hands and awarding the pot to the player(s) having the highest ranking hands according to the ranking of hands of Poker. Where several players have equal, highest ranking hands, the pot is divided among those players or carried over to the next round of play.
In lieu of exacting a levy on the pot to provide a profit to the casino for hosting of the game, certain community card combinations dealt during play are designated as housexe2x80x94pot winning hands. For example, if the community cards include an Ace with a King or Queen, the house would win and collect the pot in lieu of exacting a levy on the pot.
For Caribbean Stud, where a pot is provided, instead of exacting a levy on the pot as a house vigorish, certain dealer hand holdings are designated as pot winning hands, e.g. where the dealer""s first two cards dealt/exposed are an Ace with a King or Queen.
The ""529 Patent/Poker
In lieu of exacting a levy on the pot, certain community hand holdings may be designated as housexe2x80x94pot winning hands where the house wins the then constituted amount of the pot. In this fashion the house""s profit would be funded by the house occasionally winning the pot.
System
Also set forth is a system for playing the games according to the present invention. The system includes a host processor which is linked to a plurality of gaming terminals which can be dedicated gaming machines, personal computers or the like. Each player at one of the terminals make a wager to play the game as well as the pot wager to play against the other players linked through the host processor. The processor determines which players win their games as well as determining the winner(s) of the aggregated pot wagers. Where the virtual dealer for the linked machines has a predetermined holding, the house wins the pot thereby eliminating the need to exact a commission or levy on the pot.